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Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups

Zucchini lasagna roll ups are filled with vegetables, low fat cheese and plenty of flavor. Load yours with your favorite cheeses, and enjoy this meatless weeknight meal. Great to make ahead and freeze, too!

Sometimes being mindful of calories means you have to cut the meat. But how do you bulk up a meal so it’s not just pasta and sauce? With an assortment of vegetables like I did in these zucchini lasagna roll ups.

Make yours the way your family likes them by switching up the cheeses (I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta because we hate it) but I know a lot of people who feel opposite–either will work here. And use whatever vegetables in your filling you like.

I admit– I had some reservations when I put this on the table for my kids. My son hates mushrooms and can spot them from 40 paces. My daughter pretty much hates everything new. So I sat these on the table and didn’t say a word about what was in them.

“They are lasagna roll ups,” I said. That was all I was spilling. And I waited for the complaining.

But…

All I heard was silence. Because they were stuffin’ their faces. Even my son gobbled up the mushrooms. I don’t think he noticed them, and my daughter ate all of hers and declared “that was good”.

Miracles do happen. And I should have made a double batch.

How to make the best zucchini lasagna roll ups

Use whatever lasagna noodle you like in these zucchini lasagna roll ups. I used an “oven ready” version that really didn’t need to be boiled but I cooked them just enough to soften them–about 5 minutes then pulled them out, filled them and rolled them. They worked perfectly.

Any pasta sauce you like is also fine. I have found that I really prefer a good marinara sauce, and if I don’t have any of my own left from summer canning (weep!) I buy a good one at the store. And no that’s not Prego or Ragu.

Whatever vegetables you decide to use, you’ll want to cook them in a skillet first to get out any extra moisture. If you don’t, you run the risk of them not being fully cooked when you take your zucchini lasagna roll ups out of the oven or weeping out all of their liquid and giving you lasagna soup, which isn’t half bad by the way…just not here.

Don’t forget that vegetables and dairy are super bland, so you’ll want to season with salt and pepper as you go. Don’t write to me and tell me these zucchini lasagna roll ups didn’t have any flavor. You have to use salt.

Zucchini Lasagna Roll Ups

Cut the meat and bulk up this lighter but still hearty lasagna with fresh vegetables, gooey cheese and a savory marinara sauce.

Course
Main Course

Cuisine
American

Prep Time10minutes

Cook Time30minutes

Total Time40minutes

Servings6people

Calories349kcal

AuthorRachel Ballard

Ingredients

8 lasagna noodles

1 tablespoonolive oil

1/3cupdiced yellow onion

1garlic clove minced

1 cup shredded zucchini(grated on a box grater)

1/2cupshredded carrots(grated on a box grater)

1cup sliced portobello mushrooms

8 ounces frozen spinachthawed, and squeezed dry

1 cup low fat cottage OR ricotta cheese

1 teaspoonItalian seasoning

1 teaspoondried oregano

2 cups part skim mozzarella cheeseshredded

1/2cupparmesan cheese

1 25 ounce jarmarinara sauce

1 teaspoonsaltdivided

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a few large pinches of salt to the water. Add the noodles and cook until just flexible and slightly softened--about 5 minutes. Remove to a cookie sheet sprayed with non stick spray. Set aside.

Heat a 9-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and the onions. Cook 3 minutes then add the garlic stirring often.

Add the zucchini, carrots, mushrooms and spinach and cook until the vegetables release their water and it simmers away--about 6 minutes. Season with 1/4 of the salt and pepper. Set aside to cool slightly.

In a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, egg, Italian seasoning and oregano. Add the remaining salt and pepper to this mixture.

Place 1/3 of the pasta sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 or slightly smaller baking dish.

Working with one lasagna sheet at a time, spread a couple of tablespoons of the cheese/egg mixture over the length of the pasta. Sprinkle with a couple of tablespoons of the vegetables and add a tablespoon of mozzarella and parmesan.

Starting at one end, roll up and place each roll seam side down in the sauce, leaving a little room between them.

Top the rolls with the remaining sauce and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

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